Boojum worker’s reponse to “Win Student Rent For a Year” competition

WIN YOUR STUDENT RENT FOR A YEAR

“It’s fair to say paying extortionate rent for what feels like the cupboard under the stairs isn’t exactly the highlight of any Uni experience.

Think of the best life you’d be living with all that extra cash in your pocket. Boojum on the daily, yes please. Taxi to class, of course. City break during reading week, why not! ​Boojum could make living your best life a reality with the chance to ​

win your student rent paid for a year!“

RESPONSE

Boojum’s latest competition has a seemingly splendid offer for our clientele: enter our competition and we will pay your rent for you for the duration of your academic year. So, what’s the problem? The problem is that in the middle of a rent crisis, where Dublin overtakes Silicon Valley in terms of the cost of living, Boojum have the gall to try and present themselves as offering struggling students a helping hand to stay afloat. The reality is, for many Boojum workers, life is a hellish struggle as getting by on the meagre wages which Boojum offer is not enough to pay our astronomical rent. Boojum is an expanding company which means they have a reserve of funds that could be used to pay their staff a living wage.

Instead, they rub our day-to-day struggle in our face with this latest gimmick. They are cynically trying to pretend that they care about struggling students, when in reality they just want good publicity so people will buy burrito bowls, all the while it is the regular for staff to cry and break-down in work, for staff to have their hours cut, and for staff to recurringly face working in conditions where often they experience theft and threats from anti-social criminals – and all the while the company refuses to provide adequate security staffing.

Maybe, instead of gimmicks like this latest competition, Boojum should hire security so their staff and customers are safe? Maybe, instead of this latest gimmick, they should pay their staff a living wage of 12 euro an hour? And if they refuse to threat their workers with respect, maybe we should take matters into our own hands and join a trade union and show that we are serious about our concerns and that enough is enough!